


Telling Chloe

by thatmitchsentho



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F, because who doesn't dig a good love triangle, unrequited Bechloe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-07
Updated: 2016-12-07
Packaged: 2018-09-07 03:02:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8780599
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmitchsentho/pseuds/thatmitchsentho
Summary: Beca Mitchell is at breaking point. With the stress of trying to get the Bellas reinstated, winning Worlds, her internship and Chloe trying to get in her pants despite her gentle let downs, she's ready to fall apart. So a Bellas retreat sounds like the worst thing in the world, until she realises that the Bella-bus is taking her to the one place and only person she needs right now.





	

Beca had her headphones on and her laptop balanced precariously on her knees. She was wedged sideways in her seat, staring at the screen but not actually doing anything. She'd chosen to sit in this position on the Bella's impromptu retreat under the pretense of working on their Worlds arrangement, but in reality… she didn't want to talk to anyone. She felt like she was one second away from losing the plot and either crying or screaming at someone, every second of the day.

She knew where the bus was going before they arrived. She'd travelled this exact road a few times, not many, but enough to know what was down here. But for the sake of keeping private things private, she pretended she had no idea where they were headed. And as they piled off of the bus, Beca waited with an unbearable nervous tension to see -

Aubrey. There she was. Right in front of her. She couldn't even hold back, she was the first one into Aubrey's arms, wrapping them around her tightly. The other Bellas all latched on and turned it into a group hug, thankfully, or Beca would have had some explaining to do. Not a single one of them could tell that anything between the Bellas captains current and former was anything other than what it had always been.

Right now, Beca felt close to crying. She was in Aubrey's arms - surrounded by Bellas as well but beggars couldn't be choosers - which is the one place she wanted to be. The only place, even, where she'd wanted to be over the past few months. And even though there was a cacophony of excited squeals and a flurry of arms, she felt completely at peace and still. Because Aubrey would know what this was like, she was sure of it. All of the unbearable pressure - both Bella and personal alike - so much of it she was sure she would buckle, bearing down on her. But the second she felt the blonde's hand move slightly under the octopus-style group hug, curl around her a bit tighter, she felt a little better.

Aubrey had begun barking orders straight away, and Beca had to bite the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling. Because she knew for a fact that the blonde missed all of the Bellas tremendously, lamenting that she didn't see them as regularly as she would have liked. That, and the obvious fact that she kinda dug bossy Aubrey.

She kept a careful sort of distance through the first few activities, only letting her eyes catch and hold the older girl's a few times. But by the time they were waterlogged in the afternoon, Aubrey had relented and the girls were swimming around and having some actual fun in the lake. Beca let her eyes drift up to the dock, saw Aubrey perched on the edge, watching with a bright smile on her face. She was beautiful. Always, but especially now.

"You okay?" Stacie asked, splashing her a little.

"Yeah, just got some shit I wanna run over with Aubrey for a few minutes. Boring captainy shit," she said, and Stacie immediately turned and dunked an approaching Chloe under the surface. Beca dragged herself out of the water and sat next to Aubrey on the dock. They didn't speak for a few minutes, but the electricity was painfully obvious to both of them. The blonde swallowed hard, waiting until she was sure all the other Bellas were still out of earshot before speaking.

"Let me guess. She still doesn't know." Both of their eyes flicked to the redhead.

"No," Beca said. "She has no idea. I have no idea how I would even start to tell her something like that."

"Her not knowing hasn't changed over the course of two years," Aubrey said. "What's so different about now?"

"I don't know why, but all of a sudden she's dropping hints like it's freshman year all over again," Beca said. "It's like she can tell it's all drawing to a close and wants to have a last crack. I keep just playing it off, whatever, but I'm afraid I'm going to crush her, Aubrey. I don't want to hurt her."

"I know," Aubrey said. "But if you're not in love with her…"

"You know I'm not," Beca said softly, but firmly. "I never have been. And I've told her that every single time she gets like this. I adore Chloe, I do. Same as you do. She's the best friend I've ever had and she means the world to me. But I'm not in love with her."

"Sounds like you need to tell her again," Aubrey sighed. "How are we ever going to break it to her?" Beca bit her lip. Even just thinking about telling Chloe everything and knowing what Disney-eyed face was awaiting them was killing her. She could already see the glassy wide blue eyes as her two best friends revealed that they'd been only occasionally but nonetheless very intimately involved over the past two years and not told her.

"She's going to find out, Bree. I'm pretty sure Cynthia Rose already has it figured out." She paused and looked around, seeing all the girls were still too preoccupied to see what they were talking about. "But, all things aside, it's really good to see you. I'm glad we're here. It's been too long."

"It really has," Aubrey said. "You seem stressed out."

"That's because I am," Beca said, her composure cracking a little. "I'm trying to not fail all my finals, trying not lose my internship spot by acting like an idiot but trying to do enough that my boss notices I can do more than make coffee and maybe call me by my actual name sometime soon, I'm also trying to get the Bellas reinstated - but first I have to win the Worlds, which is so much harder because number one, those Germans aren't going to be an easy take and number two, Chloe spends every waking minute riding me about arrangements or dropping really obvious hints about hooking up." She pinched the bridge of her nose and willed the threatening tears away. She hated even thinking about how much she had going on. And if Aubrey turned and hugged her now, she was definitely going to cry. A lot. Thank god the blonde was always great at telling when she didn't want to be touched. She closed her eyes and sighed, the other girl just watched her for a few moments until she gathered herself.

"You need to remember why you're doing all of this," Aubrey said quietly, looking at the girls playing out in the water.

"To get the Bellas reinstated?" Beca asked wearily. "Ensure the legacy we built lives on."

"No," Aubrey said. "Because you love it. Music. The girls. They're your family, and admit it or not, you love them. And you love music more than anything."

"I do," Beca said. "God, I do. I just don't remember when everything got so complicated."

"Well, finals. They're never a fun time for anyone," Aubrey said. "And yes, you're worked up about the internship but it's only because it's your first real shot at what you want to be a long and successful career. It makes sense to be nervous. Just remember that you kick ass at what you do. You've written history-making vocal arrangements. You can do anything." Beca smiled at her.

"And Chloe?" she said ruefully. "What do I do about her?"

"Maybe we just have to come clean and tell her," Aubrey said. "Like you said, she's going to find out eventually."

"When do we tell her?" Beca said. "I don't think I'm going to be able to hold up til after Worlds."

"Well, I'd say not. Because I sign the deeds for my new place next week, and she's going to see us around together," Aubrey said. "Let's tell her today. It'll be one less thing stressing you out, Beca and anything I can do to make this easier, I want to do."

It wasn't quite that easy, though. They were constantly surrounded by Bellas, and they didn't find a spare moment to talk to Chloe. The girls were just bedding down for the night, Beca just having declined a back rub from Chloe. It led to things being increasingly tense, and Chloe's next statement didn't help ease it any.

"I wish I had experimented more in college," she said leadingly. Beca couldn't do this. Not now.

"You're so weird," she said, rolling over and effectively ending the conversation. It was less than fifteen seconds before she heard the rustle of Chloe getting out of her sleeping bag and leaving the tent. Beca sighed quietly. She got up and followed her out of the tent, to the complaints of the other Bellas.

"Just toss our sleeping bags down here," Beca said. "That way we won't have to climb back over you all." She squinted out into the semi dark and saw that Chloe had settled back down at the fire pit, staring into the smoldering remains as she wrapped her arms around her knees. She looked unhappy, and didn't raise her head when Beca approached. Beca sat near her, not right next to her.

"Chlo," she said softly. Chloe looked up and shook her head.

"It's fine," she said in a voice that indicated it was not fine at all. She poked at the fire with a stick a little until a small flame erupted and spread.

"Chlo, look at me," Beca said. "It's not what you think. You do mean a lot to me, I swear. You're the first real friend I ever made. You've given me so much. The Bellas, for one."

"So then what is it?" Chloe asked. "I feel like I've been pretty clear about this thing."

"You have," Beca said. "I'm just not good with this stuff. So you gotta let me finish. Chloe, you mean a lot to me. And I've seen all the signals, caught all the innuendo. But I can't. Chloe, you're my best friend in the entire world, and yes you are an incredible woman, and you're extremely beautiful, but I just don't feel that way about you. That hasn't changed since freshman year. I'm sorry." Chloe's head fell again and she wiped at a tear.

"I just assumed - I mean, there's never been anyone else, so I hoped that after some time…" she trailed off. Out of the corner of her eye, Beca could see Aubrey approaching them and gestured that she should take a seat.

"Except there sort of has," Beca said. "It wasn't really a big deal or very serious until recently, because neither of us were in a position to up and leave and be with the other. We haven't been able to see each other as often as we'd like so we've kept it pretty quiet."

"Beca, it wouldn't be like that with me. I would be with you as often as you wanted," she said. "I'd follow you anywhere."

"Chloe," Aubrey said. "Sweetie, you need to listen to Beca. She's telling you why that's not going to work." Beca looked at her, and the blonde just nodded, giving her the go ahead.

"It started after we won the ICCA title two years ago," Beca said awkwardly. "You were still out dancing with Stacie and Jessica and Ashley. But I wasn't with you. I was tired."

"No, you and Aubrey both left, because she had to fly back home the next morning and you were wiped," Chloe said, remembering. Beca gave her a pointed look and hoped that would be enough. "Hang on, you and… Aubrey?" She turned to her best friend.

"Yes," Aubrey confirmed. "Chlo, I know this has to hurt, but Beca and I… it's been a thing. We're together."

"But, but - when?" Chloe asked, confused. "When have you guys even seen each other?"

"Well the first time was after we won that title, then that summer she was back in Atlanta and we kind of spent a lot of time together," Beca said. "Since I was staying with dad and all. Now, we talk almost every day. In terms of seeing each other, though, it's mainly been long weekends or holidays or spring break. And we've been talking about our relationship in a much more serious kind of deal for about six months. And now Aubrey's moving back towards Atlanta to start up another one of these retreats in Lake Charlotte, so we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other. "

"You two are dating?" Chloe asked disbelievingly. "No way."

"It's true," Aubrey said.

"Well, why have you waited years to tell me all of this?!" Chloe said, starting to get upset. "I've been throwing myself at you for years, Beca. Years."

"I know," Beca said calmly. "And I told you I wasn't interested back then, too. More than once. I was very conscious of how you felt, I tried not to do or say anything you might misconstrue. We just didn't know how to tell you. We didn't know how you'd react."

"Well, let's see," Chloe said, tears starting to fall. "My very best friend and the girl I've been in love with for four years have been screwing and didn't think I deserved to know. How would you react?!"

"We didn't do this to hurt you," Aubrey said. "It all began by accident and neither of us expected anything to happen after that first time. And it's not like we kept you out of the loop. Nobody knows. This wasn't our intention. But we're happy, Chlo."

"Yeah, well your intention doesn't help me any," Chloe said. She got up and stalked back to the tent. Beca and Aubrey followed, hearing the muffled voices of several Bellas. Then the zip opened and Beca's unzipped sleeping bag came flying out.

"Great," she sighed. They could hear someone, Cynthia Rose was Beca's guess, arguing that it wasn't right to just kick Beca out, but Beca called through the tent that it was fine. She dragged the bag up to the smoldering fire, unzipped it fully and huddled into a ball near the pit to keep warm.

"What on earth are you doing?" Aubrey asked.

"Getting comfortable."

"Don't be stupid," she said. "Come and stay with me."

"As much as I would love to do that," Beca said, "I don't think that's going to help the situation any, do you? What do you think Chloe's going to do if she finds out we spent the night together? I'm trying to bring the Bellas together, pissing her off isn't going to help."

"Then I'm staying out here with you," Aubrey said.

"No, that's just as bad," Beca said. "Look, Bree, I appreciate the offer. But I'll be okay. The fire's still warm. And it's not like everyone's on the other side of the park. The bus is sheltering most of the wind and it's warm enough out here I guess."

"Let me bring you some more blankets," she sighed. She disappeared momentarily, and returned with another sleeping bag, a pillow and three thick blankets. She helped Beca fashion a small nest and wrapped her up. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Beca said. "Thanks." Aubrey kissed her on the forehead. Beca wrangled a hand free and pulled her back down to kiss her gently, resting their foreheads together for a second, needing that contact.

"You sure you're okay?" Aubrey asked.

"I'll be fine, babe," she said. Aubrey still looked in two minds about leaving her there. "Promise."

Beca tried to sleep, she really did. But she was plagued with thoughts of Chloe and Aubrey and what they were going to do. Because the way she felt about Aubrey was nothing she had experienced before, nothing she had ever expected she would experience in her lifetime. Their relationship was the one thing that was keeping her grounded these days. But she didn't want it to break up her friendship with Chloe, or Aubrey's friendship with Chloe. The blonde had already told her that she didn't make friends easily, and Beca didn't want their relationship to cause her to lose one of the few she had.

Before she knew it, the sun was coming up. Beca had barely slept for half an hour. It had gotten cold, but she wasn't as uncomfortable as she was worried about Chloe. Just as the cool grey light of predawn began to turn yellow, Aubrey was sitting down next to her, pressing a travel mug full of hot coffee into her hands. Beca accepted it gratefully, and let her free hand entwine with Aubrey's.

"Did you get any sleep?" Aubrey asked. Beca shook her head. "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know," Beca said. "I hate that this hurts Chlo so bad, but I don't want to give you up, Bree. The way I feel about you… it's a big deal for me."

"For me, too," Aubrey said. Beca stared blankly at the mug in her hand, Aubrey also gazing off into the distance. Then she slid closer to join Beca under the blankets, wrapping an arm around her to try and warm her up faster. The smaller girl looked absolutely drained, worse now than she'd ever seen her. She looked like the slightest thing would cause her to fall apart.

Chloe was watching the scene from just next to the tent. Cynthia Rose was right beside to her. "So you found out that's a thing?" the younger girl said. Chloe felt ill, but nodded.

"Let me guess, it's hitting you real hard because you've been into Beca since forever," Cynthia Rose said. Chloe turned to her with tears in her wide blue eyes. "Chloe. We all know."

"Did you all know that she doesn't feel the same?" she asked.

"Yes," Cynthia Rose replied honestly. "I don't think the others know about her and Aubrey, though. I didn't realize it until about three, four months ago. But it all makes sense. Beca's been cryptic about this sort of thing as long as I've known her. But she's never bemoaned her lack of a love life, or anything of the sort. A couple months ago, I caught a glimpse of the two of them chatting over Facebook. Not prying, just saw it open on her laptop as I walked in. Beca was saying how much she missed her. Wasn't my place to pry."

"I can't believe they didn't tell me," Chloe said. "It's been years of them hooking up and sneaking around."

"I don't think either of them intended for this to hurt you," Cynthia Rose said. "From where I'm standing right now, it looks like that the fact this hurts you is killing both of them. And that sucks, Chloe. Girls in love should be happy." They looked over for a few more moments. It was true. They were snuggled together under the blankets but neither of them looked happy. Even from their distance away, they could see how drawn Beca's eyes were, the dark rims and heavy lids. But Chloe's chest ached at the sight of them together. She didn't want to hate Beca for feeling that way about Aubrey and she didn't want to hate Aubrey for being the one Beca wanted. But she did.

"I gotta pee," Chloe said and walked away. Cynthia Rose just sighed. She couldn't make Chloe be okay with it. But she wasn't about to pretend she wasn't happy for Beca. The girl worked hard. And she deserved to be happy.

"What do we do, Bree?" Beca sighed. They were disturbed by approaching footsteps, looking up to see Cynthia Rose coming toward them.

"B, did you sleep out here all night?" she asked.

"Yeah," Beca said. "Not that I slept." They all looked at each other.

"Let me start," Cynthia Rose said. "I know about you two. I've known for about four months I think. You two were Facebook chatting, I saw a little something on the screen. But it's not my job to hassle you about your love life, or gossip with the others. Figure that's your business."

"Thank you," Aubrey said.

"And we all know Chloe has it big time for Beca," she continued. "And that Beca has been letting her down gently every single time she tried it on. But it's been hard on her to see this in the flesh, I guess."

"We didn't mean to hurt anyone," Beca said. "CR, this isn't a fling, or a random hookup. It's been two years. And yes, we could have told people about it, but…"

"You're both not really that kind of person, I know," she said. "You're private people. Which makes it all the harder for Chloe, because she lives her life on the outside and expects everyone else to do the same."

"So what do we do?" Beca asked. She was clutching Aubrey's hand tightly under the blanket. "CR, I'm running out of ideas on how to handle this. Because Chloe means a lot to both of us, but this with Bree is important… If it wasn't, we wouldn't be clinging so hard to each other and-" She was beginning to tear up, all of the emotion plus fatigue getting the better of her. Aubrey pulled her into the crook of her neck and murmured soothingly to her. Cynthia Rose watched. It felt like an incredibly intimate moment, though. One that was surprising given the two people involved.

"All you can do is give her time," she said. "Once she sees you guys together, sees that it's real, feels it, she'll come around. It might be painful for her for a while but I think you don't really have a choice. And tell the other girls. They'll be able to help her through it. And what's more, they'd be happy for you guys."

"Can you tell them?" Beca asked. "I just can't deal with that right now. I'm exhausted and didn't sleep, and -"

"Sure," CR said. "B, I've got your back. You don't have to apologise for falling for someone. I'll tell the girls. You get some rest, dude, you look like you need it."

"I can't, we have a full day," Beca said. "There's so much to do."

"Oh please," Aubrey said. "You look like you'd barely be able to stand." Cynthia Rose made her way back to the tent and Aubrey helped Beca to her feet.

"I just need a shower," she said, though she didn't feel steady at all on her feet.

"No," Aubrey responded. "You're coming back to my quarters and sleeping while I take care of the other girls." Beca couldn't even argue. Her back was stiff as hell and she was literally beyond fatigued. It was like all of the stress and worry she'd been experiencing had manifested itself at once.

Aubrey led her back to her quarters, which was like a small studio apartment built into a cabin. She pushed Beca toward the bed and then turned the air on so that she wouldn't roast to death while she slept, explaining that it was like a pressure cooker. Beca was already crawling beneath the sheet and Aubrey leaned down to kiss her on the cheek.

"I'll come check on you later," she promised.

"Mmm," was all that Beca could manage sleepily before she was lured into sleep by the soft pillows that smelled deeply of Aubrey's shampoo. When Aubrey found the others, it was obvious Cynthia Rose had filled them in.

"How's Beca?" Amy asked. "She's been looking pretty tired."

"Well, she was asleep in the time it took me to tuck her into bed and get to the door," Aubrey said. "She's absolutely exhausted, no other way to describe it. And she literally didn't sleep last night. She looked like her body was about to give out on her."

"Uh, Aubrey?" Stacie said. "CR told us what's been going on. And I think the first thing is that we were all surprised, but now it's more that we're happy for you guys. A little worried about Chloe, sure, but she'll be okay eventually. We're sure of it."

"Thanks," Aubrey said with a smile. "And yeah, there's a lot we have to resolve, Beca, Chloe and I. But let's just not bring it up during group time? It'll crush Chlo all over again and it's something we should deal with in private." The girls nodded their agreement. Aubrey hoped that would mean that the day's activities wouldn't be fixated on the disagreement between herself, Chloe and Beca. She was wrong.

Chloe was outright hostile. Her eyes were anywhere but Aubrey, and when they were forced to make eye contact, her narrowed eyes were full of hate. Aubrey tried to ignore it, telling herself that Chloe was hurting, but it was throwing the entire group off. The redhead was snapping at everyone, and it was only when she delivered a particularly hurtful and unwarranted barb to Emily, who had immediately dissolved into tears, that Aubrey called it off.

"Alright," she relented. "Girls, I'm giving you free time. See Brian at the lakeside kiosk and he'll give you keys for all the fun stuff. Chloe, we need to talk."

"No, we don't," the redhead said, turning to walk away.

"Jesus, Chloe, you dragged the girls down here talking about team harmony and uniting the group, but you're the one making things completely unbearable," Aubrey said. The Bellas immediately bailed, leaving the two of them to hash out the tension.

"Well excuse me if finding out you and Beca are fucking regularly doesn't make me want to make nice and sing pretty songs," Chloe spat. Aubrey winced.

"We aren't fucking, Chloe," Aubrey said. "We're dating."

"Whatever, you two were doing it in secret and you didn't care what it meant for my feelings," she said.

"Yes, we were doing it in secret," Aubrey admitted. "At first it's because yeah, it was pretty much just the hooking up. But about six months in, it was more that we were realizing that we had some serious feelings, and were trying to figure out if that was even something we could maintain what with the distance and us both sucking at relationships."

"That doesn't excuse it," Chloe said.

"I'm not making excuses," Aubrey said. "And it's not something I need to apologise for, either. It's not like I stole your girlfriend. She told you she wasn't interested. More than once. Yes, this hurts, I'm sure. But that's not really our fault. You're the one who's been hung up on her for four years."

"Of course it's my fault," Chloe said with a bitter laugh. "Chloe falling in love with the wrong girl, of course."

"I don't know how to explain it any other way," Aubrey said plainly. "It's not like we meant for this to happen, like our goal was to hurt you. I mean, Christ, who knew that I was going to fall in love with her? Because I sure as hell didn't, but that doesn't mean I'm not going to hang onto it now that it's here." Chloe's jaw dropped as she spun around.

"You're in love with her?" Chloe asked. "For real?"

"Of course I'm in love with her," Aubrey sighed. "I wouldn't be fighting so hard for this thing if I wasn't. We're actually really compatible - and I'm not just talking about sex. She's smart and she's funny, and underneath that sarcasm and eyeliner she's actually very sweet. She makes me happy, Chloe. She's a large part of the reason I even agreed to Lake Charlotte. I want to spend more time with her. Yes, I love her."

"Does she know that you're in love with her?" Chloe asked, ignoring the remark about sex.

"I haven't said it out loud," Aubrey confessed. "One of the things we have in common is that we're very hesitant in throwing that word around. But I am in love with her Chloe. And I hate that it kills you, I promise I do."

"Does she feel the same?"

"I have no idea," Aubrey said. "You'd have to ask her that." Chloe looked at her hands for a moment.

"I need to go see Beca. Any idea where she is?"

"She's back in my room," Aubrey said. "She got literally no sleep last night staring at the campfire and worrying about this whole mess and was a walking corpse this morning. So if you're planning on going and giving her a hard time that's going to upset me, I hope you know that." Chloe nodded and got up wordlessly, heading for Aubrey's cabin. She knocked on the door and heard a muffled voice telling her to come in. She entered to find a bleary Beca sitting up and tying her hair back.

"Chloe?" she asked, blinking several times to wake herself up.

"Can we talk?" she said.

"Do you mind if I-" she gestured to the bathroom. Chloe shook her head so she excused herself temporarily. When she came back she got back into the bed. The redhead could see that she was still very clearly exhausted.

"I have one question for you," Chloe said. "Are you in love with Aubrey?" Beca drifted off for a moment, a very long moment, and the redhead wondered if she'd lapsed into some kind of awake-but-asleep state.

"Beca?" Chloe prompted.

"Yes," Beca said quietly. "I suppose I am."

"Why did it take you so long to answer me?" Chloe asked.

"Because I've never actually been in love before," Beca said, a little embarrassed. She fidgeted with the hem of the sheet. "But Aubrey means everything to me, Chlo. We talk for hours at a time. She makes me smile, makes me calmer, makes me not feel like everything in my life is about to explode. All this drama with my job and Worlds and finals and DSM, I've wanted nothing more than to just run down here and have her hold me for a few hours, just to escape it all. I almost burst into tears just seeing her. So yes, I love her very much." Chloe nodded and paused.

"Okay," she said. "It might take me some time to be okay with seeing you two together, but I'm going to do everything I can to make myself be alright with it."

"What?"

"You love each other," Chloe said. "And whatever my feelings are for you, you've never told me anything like what you just said about Aubrey." Beca surprised her by beginning to cry. Chloe had no idea what was going on.

"Uh- Becs?"

"Sorry," Beca said. "I was just so afraid this thing was going to end up with me losing both of you." She was wiping at her cheeks. Chloe looked around and spotted some Kleenex, so she grabbed a few and passed them to the brunette.

"What? How?"

"Well, I was worried that you'd want nothing to do with me, obviously, and when push comes to shove there is no way in hell I would have wanted me to be the reason Aubrey lost her best friend. I would never want to come between you guys." She sniffled.

"It's okay, Beca," Chloe said. "You've never cried this much in the years since I've met you. Like, combined even."

"Sorry," she said again. "Just so exhausted. Between this and worlds, and finals, plus the internship… This is the most rest I've had in months, and I'm probably a lot more emotional than normal."

"I want you to do me two favors," Chloe said.

"What?"

"First, get some more sleep," Chloe said. "I shouldn't have woken you. And second, tell Aubrey that you love her. She deserves to know."

"I will," Beca said. "You promise you're going to be okay?"

"Eventually," she said. "Maybe not right away. I've got four years worth of feelings to get rid of. But I do want you guys to be happy. And CR helped me see a few things from an unbiased perspective. Just… get some rest?"

"Okay," Beca said. "And thank you, Chloe." She smiled and left Beca alone. Beca fell back onto the pillow. Then she raised herself back up enough to flip the pillow over and smush it into a better shape before falling back down onto it. Her eyes drooped closed and inside a minute she was asleep again.

The next time she woke up, it was to Aubrey opening the door. She had food with her, and Beca sat up with a tired smile.

"Hey," she mumbled.

"Hey," Aubrey replied. "Figured you might be getting hungry."

"A little, yeah," Beca admitted. "Let me just wash my face and wake up a little better." Aubrey settled into the couch and deposited the food on the coffee table. She'd already eaten but had brought Beca a simple lunch from the retreat cafeteria - chicken salad sandwich, juice and a brownie.

"Chloe find you?" Aubrey asked as Beca came out of the bathroom.

"Yeah a while ago," Beca said. "And you've talked to her?"

"Yeah," Aubrey said. "Hopefully that means we're going to be okay." Beca came and sat on the couch. She kissed Aubrey on the cheek and picked up the sandwich. She made short work of it, since she was ravenous, then downed half the orange juice, the blonde waiting patiently. Once Beca had finished her meal, she leaned back.

"How are the girls?" she asked.

"Enjoying the water," Aubrey said. "I finally gave them free rein for a couple of hours. Amy was all about the jet skis."

"Good," Beca said. "Because I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh," Aubrey said.

"Just… It's not bad," Beca said. "It was something Chloe and I talked about. Because you and I are both serious about this relationship, but until she made me really think about it… I love you, Aubrey. I'm in love with you. And the fact that you were ready to stand beside me after all of this, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate it, and that you mean the world to me."

"I love you, too, Beca," Aubrey said. "I told Chloe as well. I explained to her that I wouldn't be fighting with her about this unless I was serious. But you, you're worth fighting for, to me. We are." She leaned over and kissed her.

"I'm glad she's going to be okay, even if it's going to take time," Beca said.

"How are you feeling?" Aubrey asked, pulling the smaller girl into her arms.

"Still tired, honestly," Beca said. "I slept really well, but I haven't been sleeping well for months, so I think it's just been piling up." She relaxed against Aubrey, the taller girl pressing a kiss to her hairline.

"You've really been pushing yourself too hard," Aubrey said. "And I know why. But since you're here for another two days, I want you to get proper rest. You've got a lot of hard work ahead of you."

"Okay," Beca said. "This is nice."

"What is?"

"Just sitting here in your arms," Beca said.

"I like it too," she said. "Pretty soon we'll be able to do it a lot more."

"I've already told you how happy I am that you're going to be three hours closer, right?" Beca asked. She yawned again.

"Yeah," Aubrey said. "I can't wait. You should get some more sleep."

"I want to take a shower first," Beca said. "If that's okay. And I'd like to at least surface and say hello to the others. But can we just sit here for a few minutes more?"

"Of course," Aubrey said. After a while, Beca decided she really wanted that shower, so she headed for the bathroom while Aubrey went to fetch her stuff from the tent. After she was done, Beca felt a lot better compared to twelve hours ago.

"I thought maybe we'd try some vocals this afternoon," Beca said, tying her wet hair back. "Nothing heavy. Just try and get something happening. That is what we came here for, after all."

"Good idea," Aubrey said. "We'll do some right before dinner. Are you coming out?"

"Yeah, I feel like maybe I should show my face," Beca said.

"CR already took a poll," Aubrey said. "They want you staying in here with me. Apparently I'm not the only one who noticed how exhausted you were. Only they were too afraid to say anything because they were worried you were going to have a breakdown."

"That might be a good idea," Beca said. "It'll keep some space between us and Chloe, anyway." She slipped her hand into Aubrey's and smiled. After they'd stepped outside of her cabin, Aubrey pulled Beca into her body and held her. A breeze was just starting to make it's way through the campground and was cooling things down. She pulled back enough to see in the other girl's eyes.

"I love you, Beca," she said. A smile lit up Beca's face.

"I love you too, Bree," she replied. Aubrey kissed her softly and squeezed her hand.

"Okay then," she said. "Let's go find the Bellas." They walked away hand in hand to find their friends.


End file.
